


Into the Ether

by st4rlabsforever (omaken)



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pre-Poly, Tag to 2x22
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-19
Updated: 2016-05-19
Packaged: 2018-06-09 08:10:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6897823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/omaken/pseuds/st4rlabsforever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cisco realizes he can give Barry one last chance to say his goodbyes.</p><p>Spoilers for 2x22.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Into the Ether

**Author's Note:**

> I had to write this after seeing the last episode...

The first time it happened, Cisco had been packing up some of Henry’s old clothes, a tattered brown jacket that he’d left in the med bay when he’d examined Jesse.

It wasn’t much to go off of. Just a glimpse of Nora and Henry Allen sprawled out on the lawn of a park, smiling at each other like they were the sun and the moon. Cisco wasn’t comprehending what he was seeing at first because they -- all of them in their best mourning attire -- had seen Henry’s body lowered into the grave, completely and utterly dead.

He tried reaching out to them. Tried waving his arms in increasingly ridiculous poses and shouting at the top of his lungs, but they didn’t hear him.

Back on Earth-1, he didn’t tell Barry about this. Not yet. It could be nothing, or it could be everything, but he wouldn’t be the one to give Barry false hope. And after all, they still had the looming crisis with Zoom to take care of.

When Zoom was finally, _finally_ defeated though, Cisco tentatively brushed his fingers across the synthetic fibers again and closed his eyes.

And he was standing right in front of the Allens this time as Henry popped a strawberry into Nora’s mouth. Cisco could feel the power thrumming through his veins, different now than the first time he’d tried this. Could feel how much his abilities had grown in just a few short weeks, from a rogue vibration shot out of his fingers to stopping the interdimensional crisis that the Flash and Zoom had brought on.

He called out again and this time, Henry looked up, startled. “Who’s there?”

Cisco only laughed in complete disbelief. “It’s Cisco.” He focused, willing his body into existence. Didn’t even have to think too hard about it, actually -- it just came so easily to him now. “Can you see me?”

“Cisco!” Henry looked pleased as punch to see him, stood up, and moved to give him a hug.

“Are you…” Cisco started, then settled on “is this real…?”

Henry shrugged. “As real as anything else.”

“But you’re not -- I mean, we saw your body…”

Nora smiled sagely and Henry mirrored her expression. “I’m not alive, no. This is where we go when we ‘move on,’ so to speak.”

“The afterlife?” Cisco said in a daze. Never would he have believed himself capable of vibing beyond the veil. Even to himself, he was beginning to feel thoroughly unworthy of these powers.

“Some might call it that,” Henry said. Lighthearted. Untroubled. “So, what can I do for you today?”

Right. He wasn’t sure what he had been expecting when he touched the jacket again, and he hadn’t really thought of what he’d do if he’d succeeded in making contact. The answer, though, was exceedingly obvious now that Cisco knew what he could do and what this dimension actually was. If he could give Barry just this tiny little bit of happiness, then there was no question -- he had to do it.

“Um, I was thinking...I could, uh...remember how I took Iris into the Speed Force with me?” He didn’t know why he was so nervous when Henry and Nora were the faces of serenity, but if he had to guess, it was probably because it felt like he was meddling in affairs he had no business meddling in. Still, he was the only person capable of doing this. Henry nodded and Cisco continued on. “I think I could bring Barry here for a visit if…if you guys wanted.”

Their smiles flared into megawatt though, and Cisco could see immediately where Barry got that grin that looked like the sun peeking out of the rainclouds.

“When he’s ready,” Nora said, and Henry nodded right along with her. Cisco suspected, though, that they were probably a great deal more excited than they were letting on, if they were anything like Barry.

*

Cisco waited until he saw Barry and Iris ambling up the aisles of gravestones like they always did. Like clockwork on Wednesday afternoons, rain or shine.

He’d ran this idea by Iris first, and she’d been nothing but hugs and a peck on the cheek, so he’d figured Barry would be pretty okay with it. He’d hoped.

“Cisco? What’re you doing here?” Barry looked perplexed, but not annoyed.

“Figured I’d join you guys today if that’s alright.” He would’ve been lying if he’d said he wasn’t anxious. Not of rejection exactly, but this was usually Barry’s time with Iris. Cisco had visited Henry’s grave a handful of times before, but it was usually with Caitlin or Joe or Harry.

But Barry beamed and Cisco felt himself let out a breath he hadn’t even known he’d been holding. “I think he’d like that,” Barry said.

So Cisco sat patiently and waited for Barry to finish up his business, Barry in the center and Cisco and Iris on either side of him. They sat there for a good half hour in silence. Barry looked more at peace than at anytime in the past month, and Cisco was glad for it. It probably helped that Iris was rubbing slow circles into Barry’s back.

“Thanks for coming,” Barry said quietly. “I really appreciate it, man. _We_ really appreciate it,” he amended with a quick look at Iris.

Barry was moving to leave, and it was as good a time as any.

“Wait.” Cisco put a gentle hand on Barry’s bicep, stilling him. “I don’t really know how to say this, so I’m just gonna start from the beginning.”

Barry must’ve sensed that Cisco had a load to let off his shoulders, because he gave Cisco a small smile and nodded encouragingly. And of course, because this was Barry, it helped. “So when we were packing up some of Henry’s stuff last year, I, uh...I vibed on one of his jackets.”

Barry swallowed, audible even with the gentle breeze blowing around them. “I didn’t really know what or even where I was seeing into at first, but after Zoom, my powers were stronger than ever, you know?”Another nod. “I tried vibing again and...turns out I can actually talk to them. Your parents, I mean. In whatever happily ever after thing they’ve got going on -- and trust me, it’s happy -- and I meant to tell you right away but then I wasn’t sure if you’d be okay with this and I totally get it if I’m out of line here.”

Cisco was rambling now, he knew, but he couldn’t help it. “I guess what I’m trying to say is,” he looked down at his feet, suddenly self-conscious and unable to look Barry in the eyes, “I could take you with me to visit them. If you want.”

When he looked up, Barry was staring at him in wonder. “How do we do it?”

It was implied consent, so Cisco moved closer to the headstone. “Just hold my hand, okay? As long as we’re in contact, you can see and interact with anything I can see.”

Barry held his hand tightly and Cisco touched the marble stone.

The scene was exactly the same as when Cisco had left it before, only Nora and Henry were standing expectantly, like they’d been waiting.

“Hey there, slugger.”

The tears were already streaming down Barry’s eyes as he made a mad dash to them.

And Cisco backed away, shifting his focus back to Earth-1 where Iris was looking at them with adoration. He maintained the connection well enough to keep Barry with his parents, but this was an intensely private moment and Cisco didn’t think he had any business eavesdropping.

An hour had passed before Cisco could feel the connection slipping away and Barry opened his eyes again.

“So...good?” Cisco asked tentatively.

And Barry was crashing into him, gripping him tightly and sobbing down into Cisco’s shoulder, their height difference being what it was. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Barry said in a rush, pressing hard on the nape of Cisco’s neck as he continued to weep.

When Barry pulled away, though, he was grinning ear-to-ear despite the tears. “ _Thank you_ ,” he whispered.

“Any time, bro.”

Cisco clapped him on the shoulder. Like he’d told himself, if he could give Barry this tiny bit of happiness -- just this little thing -- then there was nothing on this Earth that would stop him from doing it.

**Author's Note:**

> check me out on [tumblr](http://st4rlabsforever.tumblr.com)


End file.
